


Theory Proved

by CatrinaSL



Series: Three Things [82]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Double Pointed Knitting Needles, Drill Press, F/M, Knitting, SHIELD, SHIP DARCY LEWIS WITH ALL THE THINGS, Safehouses, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Three Things, Tire Swing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 06:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13607970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: Everyone is puzzled about the things Director Fury always keeps in his office. Barton and Romanoff are front and center when the truth is finally revealed.





	Theory Proved

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KnitKait](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnitKait/gifts).



> KnitKait prompted drill press, double-pointed knitting needles, tire swing.
> 
> Soulmate AU Reminder: Everyone has a Soulmark, a tattoo of the first words their Soulmate will say to them. Showing someone else your Soulmark is like baring your soul to them, so most people only show their Soulmate or very trusted friends.

No one could call Nick Fury superstitious. (Those who tried didn't last very long.) But it was impossible not to notice the three seemingly out of place things that his office was never without: a rustic landscape containing at least one tree; a power tool catalog; and a handmade half-begun sock with three or more tiny knitting needles sticking out at every angle. The sock's state of completion depended on the day or the hour, though the Director was never seen  _ actually _ knitting it.

There were no end to the theories floating around S.H.I.E.L.D. The most popular one was that these items were the source of his power, passed down to him from Peggy Carter herself.

"Maybe he just likes knitting," Barton put forward one day as he and Romanoff headed to Fury's office to brief him on a proposed protection mission. "And he's been wanting to get a power saw for years but can't decide which one."

"And the children frolicking in the meadow?"

Barton shrugged. "It relaxes him?" he guessed.

She shook her head. "I don't know why everyone thinks they need to solve it like it's a big mystery; it probably just has to do with his Soulmark."

Barton's eyes widened and he checked the hallway to make sure they hadn't been overheard. "'No speculating about the Director's fate,'" he reminded her. "It's in the  _ handbook _ ."

Romanoff rolled her eyes and knocked on the door of the Director's office.

Jane Foster was no average protectee, so neither Barton nor Romanoff questioned the Director when he chose to accompany them to get Foster and her assistant settled in their safe house. It was one of the nicer ones, too, located in the suburbs with access to an airport if they needed to leave the country quickly, and big enough that the Doctor could continue her research.

But she still wasn't completely pleased with the situation—or at least her assistant wasn't.

"This is the safest thing for us," Doctor Foster was hissing as the two of them exited the car. Barton shut the door behind them and nodded at Romanoff, who opened the front door to make room for Doctor Foster's assistant and all the bags she was loaded down with.

"Doctor Foster," Director Fury began, standing as they entered. "I'm glad you're—"

"Oh, good," the assistant interrupted. "It looks like you've got everything we need: a tire swing, a drill press, and double-pointed knitting needles."

Barton frowned. There  _ was _ a tire swing in the tree in the front yard, but...

"Darcy, you  _ know _ that's an autosampler," Doctor Foster sighed, reaching out to shake the director's hand. "The lab looks functional," she told him.

"Glad to hear it," he replied, his eyes on the assistant.

"This is Darcy Lewis," Doctor Foster said with a sigh. "She wants to be here even less than I do, but I appreciate everything S.H.I.E.L.D. has done so far to accommodate me."

"After stealing your stuff," her assistant added.

"After stealing my stuff," Doctor Foster agreed, then frowned. "Knitting needles? I don't see—" 

Barton exchanged a glance with Romanoff when the director reached into his pocket and pulled out a  _ different _ unfinished sock than the one that had recently been in his office.

"I can never figure out how to turn the heel," he told her.

Doctor Foster's assistant dropped the bags she was carrying, and Doctor Foster had to lunge to save one that Barton assumed contained something breakable.

"Well," the assistant began. "Now at least we know we made the right decision coming here."

"Are you  _ kidding _ ?" Doctor Foster huffed. "You've been complaining nonstop for  _ three days _ ."

Her assistant shrugged. "He's my Soulmate."

Romanoff shot Barton a look that usually meant 'you're an idiot' but in this case he assumed she was using it as 'I told you so.'

"Romanoff, check the perimeter," the director ordered. "Barton, help Doctor Foster get settled in. I'll show Miss Lewis around the rest of the place."

"Dude, I'm your Soulmate, you can call me Darcy," she told him. "What can I call you? Aside from 'Tall, Dark, and Crafty?'"

With a smile, he gestured to the stairs behind her, and as he followed her up, Barton heard him say, "Let's start with 'Nick' and go from there."

**Author's Note:**

> Darcy and Nick retire to a nice neighborhood where they can have a tire swing in the backyard. Nick fills the garage with power tools that he loans to the neighbors or takes in to work to intimidate suspects into talking. He begins lots of socks. Darcy finishes them.
> 
> [Prompt a Three Things fic!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7S2MbkK0CxVHMG3kF8CD6fYqD0zwY-J6MqLb21nmFyRpE4w/viewform)
> 
> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/170630791843/theory-proved)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


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